If you’re planning to install street-lighting poles, CCTV masts or telecommunications infrastructure along a Perth arterial road, you’ll quickly discover that a work permit isn’t enough. You need a traffic management plan that satisfies Main Roads WA, keeps your crew safe, and minimises disruption to the public.
What Is Traffic Management?
So what is a traffic management plan? It’s a formal, site-specific document that outlines how you’ll protect workers, drivers, pedestrians and cyclists while construction work alters normal road conditions. The Austroads Guide to Temporary Traffic Management defines it as “the documented strategy describing how risks to workers and road users will be eliminated or minimised while road works are undertaken and traffic flow is maintained.”
For pole installations, whether you’re erecting a 12-metre galvanised steel lighting pole or replacing an ageing CCTV structure, a TMP isn’t optional. It’s a legal requirement under work health and safety legislation, and Main Roads won’t issue a permit without one.
When Is a Traffic Management Plan Required?
A traffic management plan is required whenever construction work is undertaken on or near a road used by traffic, or when it involves mobile plant.
In practice, this means any work within a road reserve needs a TMP. Digging footings for a lighting pole, setting up a crane to lift a telecommunications monopole, closing a lane to install CCTV infrastructure, or even temporarily occupying a verge for delivery trucks all trigger the requirement.
Main Roads WA’s Traffic Management for Works on Roads Code of Practice mandates submission of a TMP endorsed by an accredited Roadworks Traffic Manager for any works within its road reserves. That includes lighting, CCTV and signage pole installations, lane closures, verge excavation and crane lifts.
Local councils across Perth follow the same framework. Whether you’re working for the City of Wanneroo, the City of Kwinana or the City of Perth, you’ll need to submit a TMP before works begin. Failure to do so can delay your project timeline and expose you to fines.
Key Components of a Traffic Management Plan
Every TMP is different because every site is different, but most plans share a common structure. Here’s what you’ll typically find inside:
Identify hazards.
You start by walking the site and noting everything that could go wrong: high traffic volumes, limited sight distance, overhead or underground services, pedestrians crossing near the work zone, or cyclists using a bike lane. For pole installations, hazards also include the movement of powered mobile plant like cranes or elevated work platforms.
Risk assessment and control measures.
Once you’ve identified hazards, you assess the level of risk and decide how to eliminate or reduce it. Options include scheduling work during off-peak hours, using additional signage, positioning physical barriers, deploying extra traffic controllers or implementing reduced speed zones.
Traffic control devices.
This section specifies the signs, cones, bollards and barriers you’ll use, all in accordance with AS 1742.3:2019, the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices. The standard sets out exact sign types, sizes and placement distances based on speed zones.
Traffic Guidance Scheme.
A scaled drawing (typically 1:500 or better) that shows the layout of every sign, cone and barrier. This diagram is the heart of your TMP and must be attached to your permit application.
Roles and training.
Who’s in charge onsite? Who’s qualified to set up and dismantle traffic control? Do you need certified traffic controllers, and how many? This section clarifies accountability and ensures everyone knows their role. Controllers must be trained and accredited under the national framework.
Safe Work Method Statement.
Because pole installation on or near a road is classified as high-risk construction work, you need a SWMS that identifies hazards, assesses risks and documents control measures. The SWMS and your TMP work together to keep your crew safe.
Monitoring and review.
Conditions change. Traffic volumes spike. Weather deteriorates. A good TMP includes a process for monitoring the site and adjusting controls if needed, plus a sign-off from your Roadworks Traffic Manager.
Temporary Traffic Management Plans
Some projects don’t need a full-scale TMP. Instead, you might prepare a temporary traffic management plan for short-term or mobile work that lasts a few hours. Think of tasks like inspecting existing poles or replacing a single luminaire.
Temporary traffic management measures still follow the same safety principles. You’ll use traffic control devices, position warning signs at appropriate distances and ensure workers wear high-visibility clothing. The difference is scale and duration. A temporary plan is simpler and faster to implement, but it’s not a shortcut around your safety obligations.
For most pole installations, though, you’ll need a full TMP. The work involves lane closures, excavation and powered mobile plant, all of which demand comprehensive planning and formal approval.
How TMPs Relate to Pole Installation
When you’re installing street-lighting poles, CCTV masts or telecommunications monopoles, the work almost always happens in or near the road reserve. That puts you squarely in the realm of traffic management.
Here’s a typical scenario: you’re replacing ageing timber poles with new galvanised steel poles along a main arterial road. The project involves excavating footings, positioning bases, lifting poles with a crane and connecting electrical or communications services. Each of those tasks creates specific hazards.
Excavation means open holes near the traffic lane. Cranes and elevated work platforms are classified as powered mobile plant, and they need clearance zones. Workers on the ground are vulnerable to passing vehicles. Pedestrians might wander into the work area if it’s not clearly marked.
Your traffic management plan addresses all of this. It specifies where you’ll place barriers to protect the excavation, how you’ll cordon off the crane’s swing radius and how traffic controllers will slow or stop vehicles when the pole is being lifted. It also defines safe access routes for pedestrians and ensures cyclists aren’t forced into live traffic.
At G&S Industries, we’ve been supplying poles for more than 55 years, and we understand the installation context. Our project-services team coordinates with contractors to ensure the traffic management plan aligns with the pole schedule, delivery timing and site conditions. We know that a well-planned installation saves time, reduces risk and keeps the project on budget.
How G&S Industries Supports Your Project
We don’t prepare traffic management plans directly, but we work closely with contractors and clients who do. Our role is to provide accurate engineering data, timely delivery and coordination that aligns with your TMP and project schedule.
Here’s How We Help:
Pre-engineered footing locations that reduce onsite time. When you know exactly where the pole will go and what loads it needs to carry, your contractor can dig, set and backfill faster.
Detailed pole schedules that include dimensions, weights and Australian Standards compliance. Your crane operator and traffic manager need this information to plan the lift and design the traffic guidance scheme.
National logistics that deliver poles to the site when you need them. Delays in pole supply can blow out your lane-closure window and increase costs. We maintain a large inventory and coordinate delivery across all Australian states and territories.
Technical support from our in-house engineering team. If you have questions about footing design, load cases or compliance, we’re here to help.
We’ve worked on streetscape projects for councils, utilities and Tier-1 contractors across Australia. We understand that pole installation isn’t just about the pole itself. It’s about coordination, compliance and minimising disruption. A solid traffic management plan is part of that equation, and we do everything we can to make your job easier.
Planning Your Next Pole Project
Whether you’re upgrading an entire street-lighting network or installing CCTV infrastructure along a busy arterial, traffic management planning should start early. Talk to your contractor, your local road authority and your pole supplier to ensure everyone’s aligned on scope, timing and compliance requirements.
At G&S Industries, we’ve been supplying galvanised steel poles from our Osborne Park facility for more than 55 years. We know what it takes to deliver compliant, durable infrastructure on time and on budget. Our poles are engineered for Australian conditions, our logistics cover the entire country, and our team is here to support your project from design through to installation.
If you’re planning a pole installation and need guidance on specifications, delivery coordination or technical support, get in touch. We’ll make sure you have the right poles, delivered when you need them, so your contractor can focus on executing a safe, compliant installation.
Frequently Asked Questions
You need a traffic management plan because it's a legal requirement under Main Roads WA's Code of Practice and WHS regulations for any work that interferes with normal road use. The plan protects workers, drivers and pedestrians by identifying hazards and documenting control measures. It also speeds up permit approvals and demonstrates your commitment to safety and compliance.
The purpose of a TMP is to map out hazards, controls and traffic flow so everyone stays safe during construction work. From crane operators to passing cyclists, the plan ensures that vehicles, pedestrians and workers can move around the worksite without incident. It's a strategic document that governs how you implement traffic control devices and manage risks on-site.
The traffic management process starts with planning: you conduct a risk assessment, identify hazards and design a Traffic Guidance Scheme. Next, you submit your TMP for permit approval from the relevant road authority. Once approved, you implement the controls onsite using trained traffic controllers and uniform traffic control devices. Throughout the work, you monitor conditions and adjust the plan if needed. Finally, you dismantle all temporary controls, restore normal traffic flow and complete a close-out review.
Traffic control refers to the on-the-ground devices and personnel that direct traffic, such as signs, cones, barriers and traffic controllers with Stop/Slow bats. Traffic management is the strategic planning and documentation that governs those controls. In simple terms, traffic control is the toolset, and traffic management is the strategy that determines when and how you use those tools. A traffic management plan is the document that brings the two together.